News from around the nation.

A man shot and wounded by ICE in NYC says agents didn’t identify themselves, economic pain linked to the immigration blitz in Minnesota becomes clearer, and tech giants partner with geothermal firms to power data centers.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast PM Update for October 16, 2026.

I'm Mary Sherman.

The man shot and wounded in New York City last week says he didn't know that the men who ambushed and shot him were ICE agents until he later woke up in the hospital.

The victim claims that the ICE agents involved, many of them masked, didn't identify themselves before approaching his vehicle with firearms drawn.

A traveling memorial in Illinois honoring people reported to have died during immigration operations will make its next stop just two miles from where a 38-year-old Mexican father was shot and killed.

The Immigrant Crosses exhibit is part of a Catholic-led effort to confront what organizers describe as the human cost of immigration enforcement.

Father Brendan Curran, a Dominican priest with the Resurrection Project, says 128 wooden crosses memorialize people identified as having died in detention or during ICE operations since 2020, including local father Solveiro Villas-Gonzalez.

A young man from Mexico who, beginning our usual school day as a proud parent, in the midst of pulling him over, ICE agents opened fire into his window, shooting him dead.

A joint report estimates that 80% of immigrants vulnerable to deportation identify as Christian.

Minnesota would have more jobs today and not as many economic disruptions had mass deportations not been aggressively carried out over the past year.

That's the conclusion of emerging research looking into these effects.

The latest report from the Minnesota Budget Project and the Immigration Research Initiative estimates there are now 32,000 fewer jobs in Minnesota as a result of Operation Metro Surge last winter.

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham says there are many examples of workers who are either wrongfully detained or afraid to report to their job.

Many have lived here for 20 plus years and all of a sudden they're being taken out of their communities, which means a loss in income for their families and a loss in taxes for the communities.

In fact, the October report says most of the job losses here were felt by U.S.-born workers.

In election news, an AARP survey shows candidates will need to focus on issues that matter to voters age 50 and older ahead of the November midterms.

This influential voting bloc makes up 55 percent of voters and pollsters say they're extremely motivated to cast a ballot this year.

Bill Johnston Walsh with AARP Pennsylvania says voters 50 plus cross party lines and geography, but share a practical question.

Which candidates will protect their financial security, health, independence and ability to care for loved ones?

He adds their survey asked Pennsylvanians which priorities matter most when deciding their vote this year.

The top three issues are the economy, which is cost of living, Social Security and health care costs.

We have been hearing over and over again that these issues are still important.

Danielle Smith reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Utah is emerging as a major testing ground for next generation geothermal power.

The technology is seen as a potential to provide steady, clean electricity for large data centers, but it could also put new pressure on limited Western water supplies.

Google has agreed to buy 396 megawatts from Fervo Energy's Cape Station project in southwest Utah.

Wilson Ricks, an electrical engineer with the Clean Air Task Force, says that's enough electricity to power about 430,000 homes.

Firm power, the kind that geothermal can provide, is really key for meeting that load growth as cleanly as possible, and specifically for providing an alternative to just building lots of gas turbines, which has sort of been the industry go to.

Developers are also showing strong interest in Utah's public lands.

Federal officials received record per acre bids for geothermal leases in the Mountain West this year.

Drilling methods borrowed from oil and gas are helping to reach once inaccessible heat sources.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This story was produced with original reporting from Austin Corona with the Grist.

Changes to the half-century-old Endangered Species Act are threatening many species, including the iconic spotted owl.

Isabel Charlay has the story from Oregon.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reinterpreted the word take under the act to cover only intentional attempts to harm or kill individual animals.

Jim Murphy of the National Wildlife Federation says the Endangered Species Act has been successful because it protects species like the spotted owl from habitat loss, which he argues causes far more harm than direct killing.

Even if the cutting down of the old growth forest doesn't directly kill any owls, it takes away the habitat so they're not able to breed successfully, their food source is gone, and they die out that way.

Hispanic and Latino residents make up roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population, and new research is raising concerns about their cardiovascular health.

A report from the American Heart Association says cardiovascular disease has surpassed cancer as the leading cause of death among Hispanic adults nationwide.

The report draws attention to the high rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Dr. Johanna Contreras, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, and American Heart Association volunteer says knowing your history is key.

Know your heritage and know your family history.

The best gift you can give your kids is talk to your kids about your family history.

The report also finds 41 percent of Hispanic adults, including 66 percent of older adults, had limited health literacy compared with nine percent of white adults, making it harder to understand medical information and access care.

Crystal Blair reporting.

I'm Mary Sherman for Public News Service.

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